X Factor champion gives vocal lessons to Wigan Youth Zone members

X-Factor winner Sam Bailey is giving free voice coaching sessions to two young Wigan singers alongside volunteers at Europe’s largest youth club and an arts foundation that supports young talent.
Sam BaileySam Bailey
Sam Bailey

Little Dreams Foundation, was set up in the year 2000 by husband and wife stars Phil and Orianne Collins as an international initiative to support young talent in music, arts and sports.

Wigan Youth Zone, which has partnered with singing sensation Sam, helps up to 200 young people a night and have been supported by a number of well-known singers since working alongside the foundation.

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Sam, a huge Phil Collins fan, is donating her time during the lockdown to conduct online training sessions to teach talented young singers Emily Pearce, 17, and Georgia Linde, 15, performance techniques including body and face movements as part of the programme.

Emily PearceEmily Pearce
Emily Pearce

“I am loving working with Emily and Georgia from Wigan Youth Zone, they are two very talented young ladies with great potential and it’s great to be able to share some wisdom with them,”said Sam, who won the TV talent show in 2013.

She added: “Phil has been an inspiration for my whole family my entire life, so to be able to pay it forward in such a great way is fantastic!”

Since being part of the foundation, the teens have had extraordinary opportunities such as flying out to Miami and performing with Phil Collins himself and other Little Dreamers. They have been supported by the foundation through Wigan Youth Zone for two years now and have developed massively both personally and musically.

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Georgia said: “I have had an amazing experience within the past two years being with the Little Dreamers. I never thought I would be able to experience such great opportunities, the favourite being singing with Phil Collins in Miami. I am thoroughly enjoying working on my new material and it has been amazing to work with Sam who is really helping me with my performance.”

Georgia LindeGeorgia Linde
Georgia Linde

Nikki Varley, Deputy Head of Youth Work at Wigan Youth Zone said: “The girls were funnily enough more awestruck by the fact that Sam Bailey wanted to help mentor them as they remember her from winning the X-Factor, they are huge fans and can’t wait to give her a tour around their turf, when they are back at the youth centre.”

“Our tagline at the centre is ‘Somewhere to go, Something to do, Someone to talk to’ and this messaging is more important than ever before with the current crisis at hand.”

“It feels amazing to get training off a celebrity who so many people know, we are fans of Sam, and she has years of experience in the industry that she can share with us. It’s been very empowering for me. The zoom sessions are something to look forward to and I’ve already learned a lot,” said Emily.

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The team have worked hard to ensure youth workers can work from home, conducting activity sessions and chats via live streams and organising Zoom sessions so the young people in the Wigan area can stay safe.

Based in Wigan town centre, with 5,500 members in total and over 15,000 visits this year, the youth workers host 20 activities a night and have access to a gym, climbing wall, skate park and an arts and performance centre with their very own music studio and youth record label.

The foundation’s funding covers vocal coaching, recording studio time, music equipment and professional music video creation for the young singers.

Nikki added: “We nurture young talent. One of our young people has even spread his wings and gone to the well-renowned Guildford School of Acting (GSA). There are only 30 places on the course and West End stars tend to originate from this establishment. His whole career path came from the extracurricular activities we were able to work with him on.”

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“We want people to realise how important those enrichment activities can be for young people, and we are so excited to have stars like Sam helping us teach these young people important skills that will assist their personal journeys, be it in confidence, communication skills and singing techniques.”

The youth centre premises are currently closed following government guidelines. However, they are continuing to support their attendees via digital means. They are adapting as best they can but can’t wait to be back in the centre having fun.

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